Ticking....Gets louder when warm

[Thenemesis]

well.. how long have you had those heads? have you ran your car hard and got it really hot at all?

 

[Rock777]

well.. how long have you had those heads? have you ran your car hard and got it really hot at all?

These heads probably have about 15,000 -20,000 miles on them. I drive my car hard, but not any harder than they were built to be driven. It has never gotten really hot on me. As a matter of fact, today is the first day it has gotten over half on the temp gauge, but it was in the 80s and I was sitting idling for a while.

 

[Rock777]

Does anyone else's rockers tick so loud you can hear them off of every car and curb you pass, especially when warm? I just can't figure this out and it's driving me nuts. Since it is getting warmer, the tick is getting more and more noticeable. I wish there was a way to see if the lifters were bad w/out taking the intake off. I am tempted to take it to a mechanic, but I am afraid he is not going to know for sure either and tell me the noise is in my valvetrain, which I am already fairly sure it is.

I think I am figuring out why us 5.0 guys are so in love with the foxes. They fit right in with the saying "without the bitter, the sweet isn't as sweet", the bitter being all the little things you constantly have to fix, and the sweet being the satisfaction of fixing them. Alright, I am done rambling......for now.

 

[feifong]

this might sound stupid but check the clutch cable near tranny might be loose or u might need a new one this is happening to me dunno might be a different thing

 

[Rock777]

this might sound stupid but check the clutch cable near tranny might be loose or u might need a new one this is happening to me dunno might be a different thing

I can't figure how this would cause this sound or why it would get louder when warm. The cable is almost new, but that doesn't mean everything. Also, the ticking is there whether driving, revving in neutral, or revving with clutch pushed in. Thanks for the tip though, never heard of that.

 

[ExplodingGopher]

I have the same thing, its a bad lifter. It just started ticking loudly one day when started, and it got louder as it got warmer, tried oil detergents to try and fix but you never know, maybe the spring that holds the actual lifting part that pumps up came out. I don't feel like taking the intake off and stuff, so the 5.0 is grounded until new engine is ready.

 

[Rock777]

I have the same thing, its a bad lifter. It just started ticking loudly one day when started, and it got louder as it got warmer, tried oil detergents to try and fix but you never know, maybe the spring that holds the actual lifting part that pumps up came out. I don't feel like taking the intake off and stuff, so the 5.0 is grounded until new engine is ready.

How are you sure it's a bad lifter? I am thinking you are right, but want to know pretty certain before I go tearing into my engine. I wish I could ground my mustang too, but it is unfortunately my daily driver. I am debating just taking off the intake and putting new lifters in it, but then what if it is a pushrod, or rocker. I can't afford to buy all new lifters, pushrods, and rockers. Will it hurt anything if I keep driving on it?

 

[lluke7]

Im dealing with the same thing, same discription exactly. I thought it was a lifter too, Im going to take the intake off to check. Please post your findings if you find a fix.

 

[jb89coupe]

This would never happen to anyone but me, but.. I thought I had a bad lifter on two seperate occassions. The first time it turned out to be a loose spark plug. Recently after my H/I swap it started up again. I didn't have a vacuum line going from my afpr to the manifold (I had the manifold tree capped, and I didn't know the set screw on the regulator WAS the vacuum port).. anyway when I finally ran a line from the regulator to the manifold the ticking stopped. Both times it really sounded like lifter noise, so check for leaks carefully before you go tearing you motor apart. You may also want to buy/borrow/steal a stethescope and try to narrow down where it's coming from.. works with a long bladed screwdriver, too. Good luck.

 

[ill advised]

I'm not saying it should be ruled out but when I had a lifter go bad there was no way I was driving the car. It wasn't just a loud tick, instead it was obvious something was broken. The lifter didn't collapse, which is why it shouldn't be ruled out, but the lifter's roller broke off of it's axis.

 

[-86GTStang]

Tool...

..sorry to hear about your problem. I just installed a set of new FelPro exhaust header gaskets, because of ticking sound.. BUT, just want to say that you can use a brass,copper,etc metall pipe, approx 25-30inch long, and diameter around 0.5inch as a perfect tool for finding were your noise come from.Put on one layer of T-shirt cotton etc on one end, for protection of your ear, and then you got yourself a nice "doctors tool". Start listening to your valvecovers, exhaustports etc, by pressing your "tool" against the engine... GOOD LUCK !

 

[Rock777]

..sorry to hear about your problem. I just installed a set of new FelPro exhaust header gaskets, because of ticking sound.. BUT, just want to say that you can use a brass,copper,etc metall pipe, approx 25-30inch long, and diameter around 0.5inch as a perfect tool for finding were your noise come from.Put on one layer of T-shirt cotton etc on one end, for protection of your ear, and then you got yourself a nice "doctors tool". Start listening to your valvecovers, exhaustports etc, by pressing your "tool" against the engine... GOOD LUCK !

I listened today with a mechanics stethoscope and have pretty much narrowed the sound down to the passenger side valve cover. i am pretty sure it is the lifter now. In order to change this I know I will need to buy the intake gaskets and of course the lifters, am I missing anything else? Anyone do this lately, about how long would it take to replace lifters?

 

[Ranchero5.0]

Before you flip out too much just pop the upper off and the valve cover and check each rocker for looseness on that cylinder's firing point on the distributor. Pull the cap and mark the distributor cup with the cylinder numbers, then bump it around to each position and check it out. I very seriously doubt it's a collapsed or failed lifter, most likely it's a loose rocker. What brand did you use? I've seen the pushrod beat up through a set of proforms on a customers car for no good reason.

Jamie

 

[Rock777]

Before you flip out too much just pop the upper off and the valve cover and check each rocker for looseness on that cylinder's firing point on the distributor. Pull the cap and mark the distributor cup with the cylinder numbers, then bump it around to each position and check it out. I very seriously doubt it's a collapsed or failed lifter, most likely it's a loose rocker. What brand did you use? I've seen the pushrod beat up through a set of proforms on a customers car for no good reason.

Jamie

I hope you are right and it is just a rocker. I just don't see how a rocker would magically come out of adjustment out of nowhere. I haven't been messing with my engine or making adjustments, so I don't see what would cause it to change all of a sudden. Also, why would I need to take the upper intake off to do the above mentioned?

 

[Ranchero5.0]

Usually it ends up in the way when trying to get the cover off. Oddly enough my friends T bird has had the Cobra 1.7 roller rocker bolts come loose twice. I'm real picky about torquing them correctly so the mounts don't crack out and fail. Had a bunch of rockers come loose over the years for no good reason. It's just one of the things about modding and maintaining a car.

Jamie

 

[William741]

Just thought I'd throw in my experience. I just installed twisted wedge heads w/ the trick flow rockers. After adjusting the rockers, everything was quiet for about the first 10 miles, now it clicks(audible inside car at idle) out of both valve covers. I know its adjusted correctly, and i tightened down all the poly locks, so im just wondering if maybe this a normal noise? See ya, Will

 

[PeteyAce]

i had the same problem with ticking noise, but with mine my harmonic balancer was loose...........well anyway good luck

 

[Rock777]

Just thought I'd throw in my experience. I just installed twisted wedge heads w/ the trick flow rockers. After adjusting the rockers, everything was quiet for about the first 10 miles, now it clicks(audible inside car at idle) out of both valve covers. I know its adjusted correctly, and i tightened down all the poly locks, so im just wondering if maybe this a normal noise? See ya, Will

I guess that could be possible. They were quiet for about the first 10,000 miles though, which makes it weird to just start ticking all of a sudden. It's not noisy like a sewing machine, it is like one or maybe two rockers are making a constant tick that goes up with the rpms. Who knows? I have a bigger problem now, my tranny just went south. One thing about owning a fox body, you couldn't really get bored for too long, because there is usually something that could be fixed, prevented, or upgraded. Maybe I'm just picky.

 

[5.0 coup]

I can't figure how this would cause this sound or why it would get louder when warm. The cable is almost new, but that doesn't mean everything. Also, the ticking is there whether driving, revving in neutral, or revving with clutch pushed in. Thanks for the tip though, never heard of that.

sounds like a header leak tip of the day buy you some MR gaskets soak them in water for one hr to where they expand and while they are soaked put them on, and start the 5.0 they will steam alot but thats cause they are cureing and i bet that will salve problem thanks Leo no more leaks

 

[Rock777]

sounds like a header leak tip of the day buy you some MR gaskets soak them in water for one hr to where they expand and while they are soaked put them on, and start the 5.0 they will steam alot but thats cause they are cureing and i bet that will salve problem thanks Leo no more leaks

Originally I though it was the same thing. I took it to 2 different exhaust shops to check for leaks and neither one of them found anything on the headers. Another indication that is generally not exhaust related is the fact that the ticking seems to get louder the warmer the car gets. Thanks for the tip though, I'll keep it in mind for future reference.